There is variety in a tree, there are scarcely two leaves just alike.
Yet this variety adds to the perfection of the tree as a whole.
In our Bible, we might ask, Why need Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in
the Gospels, why need the Acts of the Apostles, and the variety of writers in
the Epistles, go over the same thing?
The Lord gave His Word in just the way He wanted it to come. He gave it
through different writers, each having his own individuality, though going over
the same history. Their testimonies are brought together in one Book, and [p.
22] are like the testimonies in a social meeting. They do not represent things
in just the same style. Each has an experience of his own, and this diversity
broadens and deepens the knowledge that is brought out to meet the necessities
of varied minds. The thoughts expressed have not a set uniformity, as if cast
in an iron mold, making the very hearing monotonous. In such uniformity there
would be a loss of grace and distinctive beauty. . . .
The Creator of all ideas may impress different minds with the same
thought, but each may express it in a different way, yet without contradiction.
The fact that this difference exists should not perplex or confuse us. It is
seldom that two persons will view and express truth in the very same way. Each
dwells on particular points which his constitution and education have fitted
him to appreciate. The sunlight falling upon the different objects gives those
objects a different hue.
Through the inspiration of His Spirit the Lord gave His apostles truth,
to be expressed according to the development of their minds by the Holy Spirit.
But the mind is not cramped, as if forced into a certain mold. (Letter 53,
1900.)